Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!usc!apple!oliveb!tymix!cirrusl!sun600!paul
From: paul@sun600.UUCP (Paul E. Black)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Old Software: what's legal/ethical?
Keywords: copyright, licenses
Message-ID: <1211@cirrusl.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jan 90 22:06:09 GMT
References: <1990Jan4.152944.8744@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Sender: news@cirrusl.UUCP
Reply-To: paul@sun600 (Paul E. Black)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.
Lines: 25

In article <1990Jan4.152944.8744@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
doug%mathel@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (Doug James) writes:
>I buy a copy of GreatSoftware,
>version 1.0, for the going rate of $250.  Two years later, I pay $50 for
>an upgrade to version 2.0, which retails for $300.
>
>May I give away my version 1.0?  May I sell it?

The company wants things to work out as if you bought GreatSoftware
version 2.0 at the going rate.  Therefore the upgrade is an exchange. 
Ethically you are not justified in giving away or selling your copy of
version 1.0.  Of course, if the company clearly states in the upgrade
that it considers you to have two copies, getting rid of version 1.0
is fine.  (The company may be very kind to those that supported it in
the early years.)  Some companies just send the new version to spare
the hassle (and your lost time) of a physical exchange.

Imagine that version 2.0 is just a new library.  When your software is
"upgraded," you have two libraries but only one copy of the code.
Clearly there is no separate copy of version 1.0.

Paul E. Black          | UUCP: ...{ames,uunet,amdahl,sun}!oliveb!cirrusl!paul
CIRRUS LOGIC, Inc.     | Internet: paul%cirrusl@oliveb.ATC.olivetti.com
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